#cheesycatz text posts

[cheesycatz]

WORMTON AU MASTERPOST

"Spamton G. Spamton is just a normal spam program making ends meet by tricking darkners into buying his garbage. At least, that's what he tells a blue addison he accidentally wins over, as well as their friends. He won't fall for their genuine words and pure compassion, though. A salesman and a manipulator are one and the same, and neither can trick the other.

…right?"

AKA: Spamton, but he represents a computer worm as a darkner. He's some sort of 15 foot long fluffy parasitic alien centipede worm creature, and the Sweepstakes worm represents what his species's parasitic hatchlings look like after they slowly consume and kill their host from the inside out. Spamton is the last of his species left after they were exterminated (representing a computer worm being downloaded onto a computer and eventually fought off). He wears a disguise to hide his worm status so that he may interact with the general public without being reported and killed by an antivirus. He doesn't meet the addisons until after the extermination of his species. Hope he doesn't form any emotional attachment that would be severed if they found out what he really was, haha

This AU exists mostly in the form or art and text posts, but I am currently working on a fanfic about Wormton and the addisons, which will start being posted to ao3 once I finish the entire rough draft.

Links below to all: lore, art, question answers, marketable plushies, and fic updates ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Lore (art included)

Initial lore post

- The basics. Describes the general characteristics, infection process and behavior of malworms (darkner version computer worms). Also describes the extinction of Spamton's species, his origins, and the setup for his interactions with the addisons.

More malworm biology

- More information on malworm culture/biology and Spamton's specific species (the BIGSHOT malworm). Woah, say that 10 times fast...uh, also more information on the extinction of Spamton's species.

Size comparison and more biology

- A sketch dump showing a size comparison between the addisons and masked/unmasked Spamton. Also features some general sketches of BIGSHOT malworms and some more information on their biology.

Spamton before he met the addisons

- A sketch page + text on some scenes from Spamton's life from before he met the addisons.

General info/designs of malworm genera

- Not much Spamton here. It's just a look at what the other types of malworms might look like.

Art (sometimes a smidgen of lore)

Spamton and the addisons (pre-reveal)

Annoying Mouse Room™ Infinite Food Hack

The Worm Nest

How Wormton's costume works

Pros of not having a spine

Late night worm posting

What a Wormton NEO would look like

Q&A

Wholesome Wormton Content

Malworm Hoodie Design

My asks are open, so feel free to ask me any questions about my AU or art in general (within reason, obviously)! I like drawing responses when applicable, so feel free to give me a wormton drawing request and I might consider it.

Asks from Instagram about lore

Can malworm/wormton fanart be made? (Yes pretty please I would love fanart)

Plushies

Why did I make ten spamton worm plushies? I fear that number may increase

My Worm Collection

Spamton Plush Wormton Outfit

Fic Updates

Sometimes I post art and some thoughts about the Wormton AU fic I am working on. I won't be publicly posting it until I finish the rough draft of the entire story. I am maybe halfway? I'm doing my best, but I'm also dealing with life's responsibilities and making other art. I have no idea for a release date yet, but I don't plan on giving up.

Chapters 1-10 are in a first-draft state with no dialogue. Once the entire story has reached this point, I will finish each chapter one by one and post them as I do. As previously mentioned, chapters will be released on ao3 once finished. As of 05/25/24, it is: 111k words long

86k words update

100k words update

111k words update

Thank you for enjoying my silly little AU, I love reading your tags

[cheesycatz]

(Wormton AU) Somehow I went from putting a worm on a string inside my Spamton plushie's head to a 150k+ word fanfiction about the last living member of an entire extinct species of Spamton-themed giant predatory parasitoid computer-worm centipedes who is wearing a DIY skin suit (he has social anxiety)

Extra brain rot ⬇️

Molting process (shedding the exoskeleton, including hair)

Being fed a tracking chip hidden in a meat cube (in reference to Cyber City's efforts exterminating the BIGSHOT malworm (Wormton's species) during the 1997 invasion)

Top: muscles inside of the malworm's mouth allow its teeth to fold and receed inwards, allowing it to close its mouth properly.

A malworm's "teeth" are not actual teeth; they are parts of the mandible and are regularly shed alongside the rest of the exoskeleton.

Bottom: The aortic arches form the malworm's "hearts." They assist in moving blood around the body like a normal heart would. Malworms do not have a auditory heart beat.

The malworm lung structure is divided into many small connected chambers that run along the body. Should one of the pseudo-lungs be damaged, the tube connecting it to the rest of the respiratory system will close up until the damage is repaired, allowing the malworm to survive a punctured "lung."

The gizzard is a part of the digestive system. It allows the malworm to digest difficult materials, including the metal, plastic, and other inorganic aspects of their darkner prey.

The prominent, squishy circular markings at the corners of the malworm's mouth are scent glands used to mark territory. Malworms that live together will affectionately rub their scents on each other.

The proboscis acts as a long hollow spear that malworms use to attack prey, inject venom, and inject eggs. While malworm hatchlings use their proboscis to slurp up liquified tissues (since they aren't born with jaws), adults prefer solid foods. The proboscis resembles a tongue when relaxed, but a malworm can extend it up to half its body length depending on the species.

The hair of a malworm is incredibly similar to a spider. While not nearly as sensitive as a spider's hair, their hairs can feel the environment and detect vibrations and movement if close enough. It is also hydrophobic and keeps the cold-blooded malworm warm.

Malworms have scopula pads (dense specialized hairs) on the bottom of their feet that allows them to stick to walls.

The malworm's body parts, including the head, can reattach as long as the central nerve remains attached. If a body part is completely severed, the malworm will be able to regenerate it. A malworm can even completely regrow a severed head as long as it is tube-fed through the remainder of its throat. They are incredibly resilient, but far from invincible.

The malworm's nervous system acts as several "sub-brains" that allow the malworm to continue preforming basic functions (breathing, eating) even without a head.

The aforementioned fanfiction is not public yet. I plan to have a rough version of every chapter finished before I start sharing chapters on ao3, and I currently only have 76k words written.

Initial Wormton lore post

[cheesycatz]

me when I put the people pleaser who's deathly afraid of bugs and the manipulative giant centipede-tarantula-worm guy in a friendship together

Worm in the Apple (the Wormton AU fic) is currently at 100k words now! I am currently working on the the "identity reveal" part. Turns out that killing someone in "self defense" and eating their corpse isn't the best look. I'm sure this will have no effect on the plot and that the addisons will be happy to know that the man they let inside their homes is a parasitic man-eating mimic haha

[cheesycatz]

(Wormton AU) okay hear me out

What if Wormton's pheromones smelt like that vile air freshener from the specil fun pak

✅️ comedic value

✅️ connects to source material

✅️ could be used for some deranged foreshadowing

(Worm in the Apple (the Wormton fanfic) is currently at 86k words. I essentially have a rough draft minus dialogue for the first 9 chapters finished.)

[cheesycatz]

(Wormton AU) More worm ramblings from the depths of my mind ⬇️⬇️⬇️👇⬇️⬇️⬇️

(updated May 18, 2024)

Exoskeleton:

Worm culture

An exoskeleton, a hard and protective outer layer that acts as a skeleton for certain invertebrates, is a shared feature among malworms. For the email worm genus, larvae have a softer epidermis that hardens into a proper exoskeleton once they reach adulthood. Because the exoskeleton becomes very tough, it needs to be molted, or shed, as part of the regular growth and healing process, allowing a new, larger exoskeleton to grow and harden as the old one is discarded. Malworms do not molt their exoskeletons until adulthood, as they grow so fast (about 1 in/2.5 cm a day) in their larval stage that they'd have to molt several times a day just to keep up, which would be an exhausting endeavor and a waste of energy, hence why hatchlings have a flexible epidermis instead. Adults molt less frequently as they grow older and their growth slows down. A young adult might molt every two weeks, while an older one might molt every two months. A BIGSHOT malworm's usual fur coloration consists of black and yellow-white, but it becomes paler close to molting, also gaining a blue tint. Right after molting, the malworm appears almost completely blue-white until its exoskeleton hardens, after which it will return to normal coloration. While waiting for the new exoskeleton to harden, the malworm's body, including its teeth, remains soft and flexible, leaving it unable to chew food without damaging its teeth. Its nestmate(s) will chew and regurgitate food for it until its exoskeleton hardens again in about two days. Once the malworm's exoskeleton has hardened, it will eat its previous exoskeleton, recycling the nutrients. A malworm's hair is part of its exoskeleton, and it sheds it with the rest.

The inner workings of malworm culture aren't well known by the general darkner population. Malworms have no names or roles: the only distinction is between adults and hatchlings. Each adult malworm has equal say, regardless of its age. Every adult plays the same role of providing food, nest materials, and assistance for their nestmates. If an individual member needs to be identified for any reason, they will rely on the member's scent rather than a name. Since every malworm is an asexually-reproduced genetic copy of each other, they don't have any gender differences or roles, and are considered agender by default. They don't experience romantic or sexual attraction, although they can become platonically attached to what are called nestmates. A nestmate is another malworm that's something between a close friend and a family member. Nestmates live in the same nest, hence the name, but malworms aren't required to live in the same nest to form a connection. Nestmates enjoy sleeping together, grooming, sharing and bringing food for each other, as well as giving gifts. Malworms enjoy physical affection, and show it by rubbing against each other, even sleeping together in big tangled piles. Nestmates will care for nest members whose exoskeletons have not hardened after a molt yet. This mostly entails chewing and regurgitating food for the nest member while waiting the few days for its teeth to harden so that it can feed itself again. Nestmates are not to be confused with hatchmates, which are malworms that emerged from the same egg, which consist of anywhere from 6 to 18 siblings on average. Malworm larvae, referred to as hatchlings, are highly valued, and are kept well fed so that they can reach adulthood as fast as possible. A "parent" malworm will stalk the host it infected during the hatchlings' gestation period and take them to its nest once they finish eating their host's body. Although a hatchling has enough instincts to survive on its own, its quality of life and chance of survival is greatly improved by being around adults of its species. Adults will teach survival skills to hatchlings, such as leaving crippled prey in the nest for the hatchlings to practice hunting. BIGSHOT malworms specifically train their hatchlings' auditory mimicry abilities, and teach them the meaning of relevant English words/phrases so that they can better lure their future victims. Hatchlings like to cling to the underside of adults, which can be an upsetting sight to any onlooker that happens to witness a dozen or so suddenly crawl off of an adult. Once they reach adulthood, some hatchlings will find or build a different nest. Others will build a new nest connected to a preexisting one, eventually forming super-nests that can hold over a hundred individuals and completely cover several buildings or, in extreme cases, entire sections of a city. Although malworms may seem sweet towards each other, they are very much not towards any darkner outside of their species. Hatchlings instinctively avoid any moving thing that doesn't smell like a malworm, and adults will hiss at anyone that gets close, and attack any that try to touch them. And if someone even stuck a finger in a nest, they'd probably leave with one less arm. Malworms are designed to and prefer to hunt sapient programs, and seem to enjoy "playing with their food," despite being just as intelligent as the people they prey on. As is often included in news article titles, malworms are cannibals. They do not actively kill each other for food under normal circumstances, but they will eat the bodies of deceased members in place of a funeral.

Language:

The Malworm family of darkners does have their own language, but it's pretty simplistic, lacking the complicated rules and tone variations a language like English has. If you were to translate malworm language, it would sound closer to "caveman speak" than actual sentences. Malworms use a variety of sounds to communicate. Most common are chirps and chitters (variations of Spamton's in-game text sounds and laughs), but malworms are capable of creating a variety of sounds, even more so with malworm species that use auditory mimicry. Malworms have specific chirps meant to convey emotions, but the rest of their words do not change in tone. Strangely, malworm voices often sound like heavily compressed audio. A select few sounds are understood enough to attribute meaning to them:

- "Laughter" (Spamton's in-game laugh sound effect): This stuttering, high pitched chittering is a sound that malworms make in excitement, not unlike a laugh.

- "Pipis:" a term malworms use to describe their small, blue eggs.

- "Kromer:" for whatever reason, malworms have gained a small understanding of what money is, and use this term to describe it. Malworms don't seem to know that money is used to purchase goods and services, but they do know that it is valuable, and will actively steal it to either eat or fill their nests.

- "Hissing:" a sound malworms make by vibrating segments of their exoskeleton together, producing a loud sound akin to a hissing cockroach or rattlesnake. It's used as a sign of aggression, and is meant to warn other darkners to back away. Malworms will also quietly hiss as a show of frustration.

- "Growling:" Malworms sometimes generate a strange, deep sound akin to a growl that rises and falls in volume with their breath. It's seemly meant to show that a malworm is content, and appears to be just a snore more than anything else.

Malworm Senses (As Compared to Human Senses)

Sight: Malworms have large, compound eyes that grant them a wide field of vision. Their vision is slightly worse than a human, and, on account of their compound eyes, it's slightly pixelated, making it difficult for them to read things from a distance. However, malworms have incredible night vision, and are capable of seeing a pitch black room as well as if it was fully lit. Malworms see the same visual light spectrum (colors) as humans do.

Hearing: Malworms have about the same hearing capabilities of a human, but they don't have an external ear structure, instead having holes hidden on the sides of their heads, similar to that of birds.

Smell: Specialized hairs covering the long noses of malworms give them a sense of smell. Although their sense of smell is pretty good overall, Malworms are better at detecting certain smells over others. While they can detect the unique chemical scent of each and every malworm, they can't tell two darkners of the same species apart by smell alone. They despise strong artificial scents, such as perfumes and soaps.

Touch: Malworms use their hairs in order to feel their environment. Think of their fur as though it's made up of thousands of fingers. Their feet and legs, being just bare exoskeleton, can only feel temperature and pressure. As such, malworms will use their nose to feel an object rather than using their feet.

Taste: Malworms have a proboscis rather than a tongue, so their taste buds are actually located on the roof of their mouths. They like the taste of raw organs, blood, and flesh, don't mind the taste of polyethylene plastic, and weirdly enjoy plain sugar despite their normally carnivorous diet.

Body behavior

Malworms mostly rely on body language in order to show different emotions, since their exoskeleton prevents the use of facial muscles and their language doesn't use different tones to convey meaning. Below are the common behaviors of the BIGSHOT malworm:

- Hair: A Malworm's hair can indicate certain things. It can be a sign of anger or fear, where the malworm is trying to appear bigger by sticking out its hairs. Since malworms rely on their hair to feel touch, they may also puff out their hairs in order to better feel their environment.

- Eyelids: Malworms have compound eyes and do not need to blink, so they use their eyelids for other things. A malworm keeps its eyes fully open by default. Half closed eyes are a sign that a malworm is comfortable with its surroundings and feels as if it is in no danger. Malworms squint when they need to better focus on something, or as a show of confusion. Malworms fully close their eyelids when being exposed to very bright light, with their eyelids acting like built-in sunglasses. They may also fully close their eyes when under extreme stress in order to reduce sensory input.

- Mouth/teeth: the muscles inside of a malworm's jaws allow them to fold the teeth inwards, allowing them to properly close their mouths. Malworms keep their mouths completely closed in a neutral state. In a show of curiosity, excitement, or sometimes as a warning, malworms will keep their mouth closed, but leave their unfolded teeth on display in an award-losing grin. A malworm leaving its mouth open with its teeth on full display is a sign of danger, and means the malworm is prepared to attack. Unless it's just yawning, of course. The only time malworms have their mouth open and teeth folded in is when they're trying to pick something up without damaging it.

- Legs: Malworms normally keep any legs they're not actively using tucked close to their underside, but will leave their legs and claws flared outward as another threat display if necessary.

- Body/tail: Malworms rarely keep their bodies completely straight. They usually have their tails curled in some way by default, and tend to have their body hunched upwards when walking on four legs rather than twelve.

- Vibrating: One of their stranger behaviors, malworms are known to shake violently in a way that makes them look as though they're vibrating. This can be a sign of anticipation or excitement.

- Proboscis: The BIGSHOT malworm's proboscus is long and slender, and might be mistaken for a weird pointy blue tongue as first. If a malworm's proboscis starts to extend outside of its mouth, it's about to stab whatever living thing is currently within its line of sight.

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[NOTE: MPS suggests that any darkner who recalls being stabbed in a malworm encounter or passing out after following a disembodied voice reports immediately to the nearest Cyber hospital to be tested for infection]

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A malworm's mood can usually be determined by analyzing its different body behaviors, but here's an easy to remember guide:

If you approach a malworm and you are a malworm, it will be very friendly towards you.

If you approach a malworm and you are NOT a malworm, it will be very aggressive towards you.

Observed behavior in Cyber City

As Cyber City's BIGSHOT malworm invasion progressed, the malworms' behavior drastically changed. A few months in, when their invasion was at its peak, darkners were regularly quarantining and staying in groups or near antiviruses when going outside, crippling the malworms' food source. The ones that weren't part of the hundreds getting killed by antiviruses were starving to death, and the ones that were left were eating the corpses of the ones that starved. Nests became rarer and rarer, likely due to the fact that their nests got burnt when found. The malworms became more solitary, leaving hatchlings to fend for themselves unless another malworm happened to find them. Stress caused adults to either neglect feeding hatchlings or neglect feeding themselves, and even act aggressive towards nestmates. They started to seldom use their fancy voice mimicry, as antiviruses were programmed to pick up on the sound. Wild maice and tasques were temporarily captured in order to further strain the malworms' food source, and prevent them from infecting more hosts. By the time the malworm population was in the single digits, they would start eating out of the trash, just trying to find anything edible. Due to their elusiveness, the malworms were seldom seen by the general public, and Cyber City's PR team made sure information on them was scarce. After all, letting diplomats know that a malworm infestation killed about 10% of your population wouldn't be a good look. Most darkners that lived through the invasion didn't know what the malworms that attacked their city actually looked like. Information about it was out there, but you'd have to dig to find it.

BIGSHOT Malworm Research

Researchers did their best to learn more about the BIGSHOT malworm species, but it was difficult to research creatures that avoid any positive interaction with other darkners. They could assume generic things about the species based on more docile members of the malworm family, but anything species-specific that wasn't about how they looked, killed, and infected hosts was impossible to figure out. Research was done on the infection process and parasitic stage of the malworm's life cycle, but attempting to raise hatchlings in a sterile lab setting was a disaster. The hatchlings would shy away from researchers and bite straight through their latex gloves when pushed, and would constantly scream once their vocal chords fully developed. By the time they started chewing a hole through their plastic enclosure, the researchers had enough, and the project was terminated. Thankfully, the Queen's free pool made exposing of the "biological material" rather easy. A lot of the research labs' funding was dedicated towards killing malworms faster. The most effective solution was tiny, compact tracking chips. The chips were placed into small pieces of meat that were placed on the ground, which were monitored in order to make sure a malworm would eat it. The malworm, usually a juvenile hatchling, would be tracked back to its nest, which would then be lit ablaze in a controlled fire in order to kill its occupants.

There was only one attempt to monitor an adult specimen made in Cyber City. A few adults had previously been captured in order to test different killing methods, but this specimen was captured specifically for observation. Unfortunately, it was difficult to document anything the specimen when it acted like a writhing ball of teeth and claws that refused to do anything but sleep, eat, attempt to escape, and threaten researchers. The most information they got out of the specimen was an autopsy report and LiveLeak video from when it breached containment before it was neutralized. Overall, the only reliable information available about the BIGSHOT malworm species was how violent and manipulative they were, which was vague enough that it applied to the majority of malworm species, as well as information on the infection process and parasitic phase of their lives.

I am planning to create an actual story here between Wormton and the addisons, the worm lore is for world building not procrastination I swear

——end worm lore pt 2——

[cheesycatz]

The Worm Nest

(Wormton AU) About Spamton's Nest:

Wormton's nest replaces canon Spamton's shop. The only part of it that's visible is a rotten cupboard door that sticks out of a massive pile of garbage nestled deep within the Trash Zone. Inside is a tiny brick room that's made even smaller by the nest swallowing up most of its volume. The nest itself is constructed with a light blue substance consisting of polyethylene plastic and a malworm's saliva that starts out stringy and sticky but becomes durable after hardening. Inside his nest, Spamton keeps an assortment of fabric shreds, discarded clothes, ripped up stuffing, bitten-off wires, flattened pillows, and whatever else he can find to work as bedding. He keeps his most prized trinkets, thingies, and doo-dads in his nest as well. Inside the brick building, Spamton keeps several garbage bags filled with whatever interesting things he finds in the Trash Zone, some of which he takes to attempt to sell as part of his salesman 'shtick. Due to malworms' great night vision and general disdain for bright lights, Spamton's entire nest is kept pitch black.

[cheesycatz]

introducing spamton, but worm (Wormton AU)

(Updated May 18, 2024! Fixed the outdated stuff and hopefully fixed most grammar mistakes.)

NEEDLESSLY EXTENSIVE LORE 👇

THE TDLR:

Spamton, but he represents a computer worm as a darkner. He's some sort of 15 foot long fluffy parasitic alien centipede worm creature, and the Sweepstakes worm represents what his species's parasitic hatchlings look like after they slowly consume and kill their host from the inside out. Spamton is the last of his species left after they were exterminated (representing a computer worm being downloaded onto a computer and eventually fought off). He wears a disguise to hide his worm status so that he may interact with the general public without being reported and killed by an antivirus. He doesn't meet the addisons until after the extermination of his species. Hope he doesn't form any emotional attachment that would be severed if they found out what he really was, haha

Information on actual computer worms:

In the real world, computer worms are a type of malicious program that can cause a variety of computer-threatening issues. Once a computer worm tricks one into downloading it onto their computer, its main goal is to create exact copies of itself in order to infect other computers while remaining active on already infected systems. Usually, the computer user will not notice that their computer is infected until the worm's rapid replication eats up the system's resources and slows or halts other tasks. Unlike viruses, worms only need to be initiated once, and can self replicate without additional action from the user. In fact, some types of worms can spread to computers without the user even interacting with them. Both instant-messaging and email worms use the contact list of an infected user in order to send copies of themselves, with the ILOVEYOU worm being a very popular example of one.

The malworm species:

"Malworm" is the name given to the family of darkners that represent computer worms in the light world. "Malworm" is the general family name, but each type of computer worm (email, instant messaging, crypto, internet, and file-sharing) represents a different genera. All members of a malworm species are identical copies of each other, as is the nature of computer worms. Spamton is part of the (fictional) BIGSHOT malworm species, a type of email worm, named after the false promises of a better life they tell their victims in order to lure them in.

Physical characterics & hunting:

The BIGSHOT malworm is physically characterized by long black and white fur, asymmetric pink and yellow compound eyes, red scent glands on their cheeks, an almost addison-like snout, and six pairs of legs. They have a extendable proboscis where a tongue would normally be, which they use to infect prey. The proboscis resembles a flexible blue string with a needle sharp edge that can be used to inject venom and eggs (pipis) into a host. Adult malworms start out at around 9 ft long (10 ft if you include the nose), but can reach a maximum length of 15 ft (16 ft w/ nose) if they live long enough. As an email worm, the BIGSHOT malworm has the distinct ability to copy any audio they hear and replay it back. This ability is what they use to hunt prey, typically isolating one program at a time to infect or consume. While they try a variety of strategies, they seem to have an infinity towards falsely promising a better or more successful future if their prey "takes the deal" and follows their stolen voice. A particularly common phrase was "now your chance to be a big shot," which became the species's name sake, although it was most likely lifted from popular advertisements at the time. Once the victim is successfully isolated, the malworm attacks. They typically infect their victims by first suffocating them until they're unconscious in order to prevent the victim from realizing that they're infected. Next, they pierce the victim's abdomen with their thin proboscis in order to infect them. When simply looking for a meal, the malworm uses its teeth to quickly kill the victim instead.

Infection process:

Malworms are parasitoid, meaning that they start their life in a host that is slowly killed as the malworm grows. Since each malworm egg, usually referred to as "pipis," contains multiple larvae, only one egg is injected into a host. A large amount of venom is also injected and quickly spreads across the host's entire body. Incubated by their host's body heat, the malworms hatch fast, but spend several weeks before finally emerging. During this time, the host is typically unaware that they have been infected, the only evidence being a small mark from the injection and some general discomfort. Inside, the malworm larvae, usually referred to as hatchlings, use their proboscis to eat their host from the inside out. The venom spread throughout the host's body activates when it comes into contact with the hatchlings' saliva, melting whatever tissue the worms try to eat into a slurpable liquid. The host slowly becomes weaker as the hatchlings eat them from the inside out, usually dying from their internal injuries just before the hatchlings emerge. Before they die, the venom seems to affect the host's brain, causing them to gorge themselves on food and seek warm, dark, humid, and especially isolated locations in unwilling preparation for the emerging hatchlings.

Life cycle:

These malworms spend their first few weeks inside of an infected host. The freshly hatched start at about 3 inches long, and their bodies are completely white. They lack eyes, lungs, teeth, a mouth, legs, and fur. Their proboscis, which resembles a white string at this stage, is used to slurp up the softened flesh of the host and also keeps them tethered to the inside of their host as they feed and grow. By the time a hatchling reaches about 9 inches in length, it has grown its lungs, eyes, red cheeks, fur, legs, and other organs in preparation for living outside the host. It grows a pair of mandibles around its proboscis that resemble a toothy pair of jaws. Then, it desperately uses its new, soft teeth to chew its way out of the (usually) dead host. A small spot of fur on the top of its head becomes black at this point, and it continues to spread as the malworm grows. After leaving its host, the juvenile continues to grow in length, gradually gaining more black coloration. The malworm will continue to grow exponentially until it reaches the adult size of 9 feet, where its growth will become greatly slowed and its exoskeleton will fully harden. As members of this species grow, they consume any audio they hear, allowing them to use it once they become an adult in order to hunt other programs. At just 3 months of age, the now adult malworm can begin the infection cycle once again.

Eating habits:

Hatchlings are quite fragile while inside of a host, and are only strong enough to consume the softened flesh of an infected host. Once leaving the host, they usually continue to feed on the corpse before eventually setting off in search of new food sources. While they show a preference for raw flesh, they become capable of eating essentially anything edible by the time they're adults. All darkners gain magic from consuming "food," but the amount they gain from any given type of food source varies. On top of their carnivorous diet, malworms specifically need to eat the pure darkness contained within the souls of other darkners in order to sustain their complex venom, near-impenetrable immune system, strong exoskeleton, and deceptively muscular bodies.

History/extinction:

The bigshot malworm arrived in Cyber City by New Year's 1997, and had been eradicated (to the city's knowledge) by December. Their initial arrival was the most brutal period, as there was nothing to stop them from spreading. However, drastic measures were quickly taken in order to eradicate the species as fast as possible. The Cyber World's darkners were instructed to quarantine inside their homes, and, of course, avoid any suspicious voices trying to lure them into empty alleyways. Antiviruses paraded the streets, armed to kill any malworm they possibly found. Juveniles were caught and released with GPS trackers in order to find and burn nests, killing any malworms inside, and leaving the rest without shelter. After that caused the worms to stop building nests, even a few adults were captured in order to test the efficiency of different killing methods. Since most darkners were staying indoors as much as possible, the malworms struggled to find anything other than the occasional maus as a host, who could barely support even one hatchling, severing their abilty to quickly reproduce. Desperation made them, well, desperate, and therefore easy to kill. By 1998, there were no more malworm spottings or attacks. There were zero reports of any malworms in decades, and the Cyber World was considered free of them since.

WE FINALLY REACHED SPAMTON WOOHOO

Spamton's origins:

Spamton was like the rest of his species, born during the tail-end of their short-lived reign. He was one of the last born, hatching inside of a maus that was barely big enough for one hatchling, and was the last of his kind to survive to adulthood. Since the malworm population was in single digits at this point, darkners were feeling safe enough to start spending more time outside, albeit still very cautious. The increase in activity led to more thrown out food that Spamton could feed on, rather than try to risk hunting when he was already far from adult size. He wasn't able to get much magic from people's leftovers, but he was small enough that he managed. He ended up meeting one of the already very little remaining members of his species, although it was short-lived. Unfortunately, staying together was a liability. Only spared by his smaller size making him harder to find, Spamton learned to hide as every last malworm was executed by an antivirus. By the time he reached adulthood, he was the only one left. He spent his first few years as an adult exclusively hiding, feeding on scraps, and hunting the occasional maus. He created his own nest hidden deep inside the Trash Zone, although he's the only one to fill it. As much as he wanted to, Spamton couldn't re-populate his species, as any new malworms would be killed as soon as they were found, and there would be a much more thorough search to make sure his species was gone for good. Spamton spent his first few years hiding alone. However, as he grew larger, both hiding and finding enough food were getting more difficult. While his species were considered adults by the time they reach 9 feet, which is when they can start infecting victims, they still continue to grow slowly until they reach about 15 feet. Since the life of the rest of his species was cut short, Spamton was the only one to have ever actually reached maximum size. It was becoming harder to both hide and scavenge enough food, and Spamton needed a solution. Additionally, being so isolated and unable to interact with his own kind was not great for his mental health, as malworms are actually fairly social darkners.

Spamton's Among Us Impostor Arc:

Spamton's solution was a costume/disguise that would hide his malworm status, and finally allow him to interact with the public. Living alone on the streets wasn't very fulfilling, especially considering that he was part of a normally social species. He's essentially had no social interaction his entire life by this point. Since Cyber City had fully opened up since the malworm extinction, Spamton was able to consume a massive amount of audio compared to any other of his species. He understood English, and was even able to form his own voice, albeit distorted and aided by foreign voice clips.

Spamton's Costume Description:

As for Spamton's physical disguise, it's a cobbled together yet sturdy enough mess. The interior shell consists of various molted exoskeleton pieces threaded together by the hardened glue-like nest material that his species can make by combining their saliva and plastics. Over the crusty mess of the shell is an off-white dress shirt, shoes, and black pants, which are glued directly to the shell with nest material. Since Spamton didn't see any situation where he'd need to change clothing, gluing it to the shell and securing it in place seemed like the best option. His pink tie isn't an actual tie, nor is the collar of his dress shirt, as some modifications had to be made to fit the long fur around his neck through the top of his costume. His oversized blazer is the only thing not glued down. All his clothes shared the commonality of being stolen from various sources, though. In his disguised form, Spamton stands about 5 feet tall, not including his long tail sticking out the back. He appears a little wide on account of having to fit about 7 ft of worm in the shell's torso. His plastic mask is fairly simple, being fastened to his face by a strap, and the lower jaw is connected to elastics that move it with his own mouth. He uses fake glasses to make his eye colors look like unique lenses, and added his own red cheeks to the mask. Since there's no way one would mistake some "normal" guy with two legs and arms as an extinct species of malworm, Spamton figured he wouldn't need to make a unique face for his disguise.

And so it begins:

Spamton pretended to be a spam program, hence the rather on-the-nose name he came up with for himself. While spam programs aren't hated or feared nearly on the same level as malworms, they aren't given a stellar reputation. They also happen to have black and white fur, making it the perfect role for Spamton to pretend to fit. Despite his best efforts, he wasn't particularly good at social interaction, let alone trying to fit his fake role. While his appearance itself wasn't particularly scary, his stiff movements and glitchy-sounding voice were off-putting to most programs. He didn't have much of a filter while speaking, often being loud in volume and mentioning whatever strange topic comes up in his mind. Despite his inability to socialize, just being able to interact with other darkners felt like a huge step up from slinking around dark alleyways, even if he was still mostly ignored. However, it still didn't solve the issue of finding food. While being disguised allowed him to dumpster dive for food without having to hide, the lack of dexterity makes it borderline impossible, which defeated the purpose of wearing it in the first place. This is where he got the idea to actually try selling things, like an actual spam program would. He didn't own any of the identification required to even attempt to get a real job—however, selling stuff on the streets could make money, and money means food. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good at it. Whatsoever. He had the confidence and aggression, but none of the skill, and most darkners ignored him or walked away. He would need some help if he was going to go anywhere with this idea.

The Addisons Summary

*I'll be referring to them by their colors for convenience sake.

The first addison that Spamton met was Blue. Spamton's frankly pathetic attempts at attempting to sell things caught their attention, and they got the idea to help him. Blue proposed an idea where Spamton would come eat lunch with them, and they would help teach him how to be a proper salesperson in turn. He agreed, of course, enticed by the free food, which was his ultimate goal. As the two got closer, Blue started to invite Spamton to more personal stuff, and he met the other addisons. Although they weren't as overly enthusiastic as Blue, the didn't mind his strange remarks too much. Spamton still believed he was just in it for the food, but he was genuinely much happier now that he had people to talk to. Fortunately, none of the addisons have figured out what he really is. Yet, at least.

[cheesycatz]

Spamton before he met the addisons (Wormton AU)

(close ups and context beneath the cut)

The only other member of his species that he's ever met gets brutally murdered by an antivirus lmao

Top left: Spamton stealing a jacket from a very confused addison in order to make his disguise

Top middle: Hatchling Spamton attempting to learn how to speak using a radio

Top right: Spamton trying out the mask that he eventually uses for his disguise

Bottom left: Spamton looking at his reflection in a puddle

Bottom right: An addison child notices Spamton in the school vent and thinks he's a giant rat. Look, he's gotta learn how to read and write somehow, and invasive predatory worms aren't exactly allowed in the school system, so venting it is. Besides, who's gonna believe the 7 year old kid that there's a "giant rat wearing colorful sunglasses" living in the vents?

Top: Hatchling Spamton gets stuck in a mousetrap, and a kind maus helps him escape.

Bottom: Spamton is starving and desperate, and immediately tries to kill the maus that just helped him out of the mousetrap

Spamton and a tasque hissing at each other. Fortunately, Spamton's large enough that he doesn't have to worry about tasques trying to eat him anymore

Top left: Spamton eating a stale donut I guess

Top right: Spamton snacking on some fast food french fries that someone dropped

Middle: Hatchling Spamton getting attacked with a broom by a disgruntled store owner

Bottom: To the right, hatchling Spamton finds a flower-shaped button in the trash. He likes how shiny it is. To the left, adult Spamton puts the button onto the jacket for his disguise

[cheesycatz]

Below are some asks about my Wormton AU I did on my Instagram story back in like... damn? January? Figured I'd share them on here for the like 2 people that actually consistently interact with my tumblr posts

My asks on here should be open in case anyone needs to know more worm lore™

[cheesycatz]

Don’t mean to bother ya but is it ok to make fannart / art of your Wormton Au and/or malworms? Would ofc give credit, I just love the idea + story and the fact that there used to be other variants makes me want to make some up for fun bc they’re rad,,

Hell yeah! Thank you for asking. It's an honor that someone would want to make art of my stuff hehe

Wormton AU masterpost

[cheesycatz]

Do you have a shop? If not, is it ok if I ask my mom to recreate the big shot autos shirt?

No, I don't have a shop at the moment. If you want to recreate my shirt design, that's fine, as long as it's not mass produced. Make sure to credit me for the design if you decide to share it online.

Thank you for asking for permission! I appreciate it.